Facebook and Twitter are fun, but now it’s time for social networking, that’s well, a little more grown up.

LinkedIn, is the social network for the professional crowd.  This is the BEST site to show off your business side.  What is it? Basically, this is a site where you can create a business profile for yourself that will allow you to stay in contact with other professionals to discuss new ideas, business information and will keep you in the loop when new opportunities arise!

There are three clear benefits to using this site:

1. You can stay connected with past and present colleagues.

2. You can connect with industry leaders and have the inside edge.

3. You can get inside advice directly from your new contacts.

The first step to getting started on LinkedIn is to create your profile.  I would suggest doing this the same way you would a resume.  List your past experience with full descriptions so other users can see what wonderful things you are capable of! Next, highlight anything outstanding from your education, clubs you’ve joined, or anything that you feel will help you stick out from the bunch.  Think of this as a constant job application, so keep your profile up to date so contacts and potential employers are aware of your accomplishments.

Try becoming a member of a group to stay informed.  This will help to enhance the size and scope of your connections.  There’s a group directory to help get you started.  Check out that dream company you’ve always wanted to work for and be an active member of that group.  Suggest ideas, ask questions, and forward the group your profiled.  Whatever it is you want to do, do it.  Just get yourself on their radar! Also, don’t be afraid to go through your contacts, contacts.  It’s all about who you know, right?

So get out in that viral world and make those connections, the possibilities are literally endless for your professional life on LinkedIn!

(Oh and by the way, as an added perk to this site… it can all be synced to your Facebook and Twitter accounts! Helllooooo simplicity!)

Happy Networking!

Twitter.  Tweet.  Tweeps.  Tweetups.  Whoa! I’m already exhausted and a bit confused.  What the heck does this all mean?! It’s ok, we’ll get through this one together.  No need to be confused, if Tyra Banks can handle it, I think we can too!

Here’s a quick break down: Twitter is a social networking site that streams live updates that either you or other users post through a 140-character message that is then shared with fellow Tweeps (Twitter users) across the world.  Think of it as constant Facebook status updates.

So, how can this benefit you and your business ventures? Simple!

Twitter allows you to create a unique platform in which you can communicate thoughts and opinions to people anywhere in the world. Your Twitter profile allows you to market and promote yourself (or your business) the way you want to be perceived by other users.   If you have your own business, Twitter will allow you to communicate your business ideas to customers and allow them to stay connected and tuned into new developments.  This can create an entire “following” through the tried and true marketing method of “word-of-mouth”- or I guess “tweet”-of-mouth in this case.

Twitter Lingo Alert! To Tweet:  a verb that means you have posted a statement for other fellow Twitterers to see.

Twitter can also be tailored to keep you informed of what matters the most to you.  By “following” other Twitter users, you can receive real time information of organizations and businesses that you are interested in.  This keeps you in the know.  The better educated you can be about companies you are interested in, the better you will look to them.

Don’t forget that although Twitter can be used to promote yourself and your business endeavors, this social networking tool can work the opposite way to help you stay connected with companies.  Through Twitter you can tweet to businesses with new product ideas, things you like or don’t like, and even “follow” their tweets to be notified of job opportunities.  This will put you on their map, as many companies use these tweets as market research.  If they like your ideas they may take a special interest in you, so don’t be afraid to tell them how you really feel!

Twitter makes it simple to stay connected and receive immediate updates.  Try downloading the application for your phone to get instant notifications of your favourite users.  This is a great tool to keep you in the know and the now!

The globe quickly shrinks with this social media tool as you can connect to literallymillions of people all across the world all at your fingertips! Facebook’s mission is definitely more on the social side of things, but there are ways to use this tool to your advantage to give yourself an online business presence.

Do you own a business? Are you an artist? Or are you a professional, just wanting to get your name out in the world? Don’t be shy! Create a separate “business page” from your traditional Facebook account to promote yourself and show off your talents!  This will help you create a brand for yourself, a brand in which people will be able to search, learn about, and create a fan base towards.  Facebook allows you to create a user name, which will generate a short URL that can be found through search engines.  This username can then be used to market yourself and/or your business through websites and even on business cards.

While this may be a good option for you to promote yourself, Facebook can work against you too, so be careful and monitor what you put on your profile, as there are a few things on there that I’m sure you would rather a future employer not see.

Here are some quick tips on customizing your page to present your best business self:

• Become a fan of organizations and groups that you are interested in or an active member of.  This will communicate to an employer your interests, and passions.  Something that may not jump off the page when an employer reads your resume.
• Fill out the “info” tab of your Facebook profile.  No need to be witty or give too many details; just be honest.  List your favourite movies, books, hobbies, etc.  This will give a future employer an idea of the kind of person you are.  They will learn things about you that you may not necessarily have communicated through your cover letter or resume.
• I’m not about to say REMOVE ALL TAGGED PHOTOS, however please, please pllleeeeaaaasssseeeee untag anything racy, inappropriate or just plain bad.  I guarantee you that your future boss will not think that picture of you taking body shots in Cancun during spring break ’08 is cool! (Not that I would know from experience or anything…)  DO keep fun photos of you with friends.  This shows you can have fun, but not to the extreme.  Definitely keep photos of you playing a sport, or camping, or with family.  You have to remember a picture can say a thousand words… let’s just make sure they’re the right ones!

Make Facebook work for you! Put your best face forward and use this site to put your best qualities on display!  Create the image you want to project to future employers or potential clients. And always keep in mind that in this day and age, we’re kidding ourselves if we don’t think companies stalk Facebook profiles.  It’s a good way for them to weed you out before they’ve even met you.  So don’t give them the chance!

Nothing says Mothers Day like a FB notification right?!?!  As most of us know Social Media is all the rage (that’s right I said RAGE) and what’s better than FB reminding you to send flowers to your Mum (I am of British heritage so it’s Mum not Mom ok?).  From notifications to free gifting, the options are as endless as the variety of flowers to choose from!  You can send free talking flowers (not sure my Mum would ‘dig’ (pardon the pun) that one), purchase bouquets on various pages such as 1-800-Flowers (where you can send Mum some love via the purchase tab), and even send Mum a card via Hallmarks FB page, whatever tickles your fancy, these options will all tickle Mum pink.

Hey you can even throw in a POKE and call it a hug for good measure! Whatever your idea of a Mother’s Day gift, you can rest assure that FB has found a way to meet most of your needs!  While these apps haven’t quite reached their potential “growth” (Hahira), the convenience of shopping all while creeping on the latest album updates seems almost too good to be true!

Woohoo! We did it! Congratulations!  We finally have that important piece of paper in our hot little hands.  Nothing can stop us now, there’s a whole world with plenty of opportunity right at our feet!  Then it hits us, the rude awakening that is the “real world”.

If you’re like me, you’ll quickly find out that the “real world” is not quite what you had hoped it would be.  The head honchos aren’t knocking at your door begging you to work for them, you don’t get that high-powered job you know you’re more than capable of doing, and the pay, to be honest, is crap.  Bummer.

So what’s a new grad to do??  First, do not get discouraged!   It is totally possible to push through all of the downsides, but you’ve got to be willing to do a little of the grunt work first.

The best way to gain this experience is to apply to an internship.  Many of these positions are unpaid, but sometimes you luck out and you may get a little compensation for your hard work.   The beauty of an internship is that it only lasts a few months.  You will gain some good and bad experiences from this position and have some fabulous references to add to your resume.

If there is any possible upside to the struggling economy it is that there are LOTS of internships out there.  Companies are understaffed due to countless layoffs.  Check out websites of companies that you are interested and approach them directly.  Still have contacts with your alma mater?  Many schools have internship banks, so check ‘em out! Try actually using Facebook for networking and not just to see where Tiffany and Emily spent their Saturday night.  Use all of your available resources and get your name out there!

If you ask your parents, their friends, random strangers on the street, anyone really- they will tell you they still don’t know what they want to do when they grow up.  My advice is to take this time while you’re young to bounce around.  This may sound like a bit of a flimsy tip, but I promise you, the only way to figure out what you like is to experience the things you don’t like.  And who knows, maybe that internship may just lead you to your dream job!